Houston Cougars Received Impactful Performance From an Unlikely Source
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The Houston Cougars are bowl eligible for the first time since 2022 and the first time since becoming members of the Big 12 a few seasons ago. The Coogs managed to reach the six-win threshold, needing just seven games after defeating the Arizona Wildcats 31-28.
The Cougars received big performances from the players everyone would expect. Quarterback Conner Weigman had another efficient game, completing 15 of his 23 pass attempts for 164 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and wide receiver Amare Thomas came up big again with four receptions for 69 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
However, one of the better performances from Saturday's homecoming victory came from someone not usually looked upon to be one of the Cougars' playmakers, as senior defensive back Wrook Brown had a standout performance against the Wildcats.
Wrook Brown Steps Up Against Arizona
Brown had himself an afternoon, totaling nine tackles (7 solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks, heavily impacting the Arizona offense, forcing them to lose a combined 21 yards. After the game, head coach Willie Fritz praised Brown's performance, emphasizing all the things he did well but especially his tackling ability.
"He did a great job," Fritz said. "I thought he tackled well, blitzed well, he had some good coverage, you know, we were disappointed in how we tackled, throughout the game, some of the guys just did not tackle as well as they normally do, but Wrook seemed to tackle well throughout the ballgame."
Getting to Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was critical even though the signal caller was efficient against the Cougars' defense, going 24 of 26 passing for 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns without a turnover. Houston managed to sack Fifita four times on Saturday, with Brown getting to the opposing quarterback in back-to-back plays in the second quarter, giving the team a jolt of energy as Brown spoke about in the postgame press conference.
"The whole building has a whole bunch of juice and energy," Brown said. " (Austin) Armstrong talks about being hungry, how you always have to be hungry, and Josh Christian-Young, our position coach, he's always saying we have to get in the jungle, so were always trying to be in the jungle and see what kind of animal in the jungle we're going to be. So everybody does a good job at bringing the juice, it's collective, I think we feed off of each other."
The senior defense back has increased his season numbers, now sitting with 29 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and an interception on the season through seven games.
Brown comes away with his best performance as a Coog, as the senior is in his first season with Houston after transferring in from Wyoming prior to the start of the season. Brown spent his first three college season out in the Mountain West Conference, seeing action in 37 contests, recording 132 tackles and six interceptions in his time as a Cowboy.
